SLAMMA JAMMA

"Redeemed Through God’s Love"

Summary:

SLAMMA JAMMA is a Christian sports drama about a young ex-convict, sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, who enters a slam dunk competition for a million dollars to pay for his mother’s medical bills. SLAMMA JAMMA is an uplifting, very positive movie with incredible basketball footage, but the poor acting and a repetitive sports competition detracts from the story. However, SLAMMA JAMMA has a strong Christian worldview promoting strong biblical principles, with some miscellaneous content involving revenge, greed and light gang violence.

Review:

SLAMMA JAMMA stars Chris Staples, a former Harlem Globetrotter, who plays the lead character, Michael Diggs, in his acting debut. A handful of other athletes appear in the movie, including basketball star Michael Irvin and baseball star Jose Canseco, making this movie a great watch for sports fans.

SLAMMA JAMMA opens with Michael’s release from prison after a six-year sentence for a crime he didn’t commit. He returns home to his mother, who’s become ill while he’s been gone. Her medical bills are piling up, so Michael is desperate for a job. He gets hired as a grocery bagger, but is fired within a few weeks after the boss learns of his criminal record. Michael applies to more jobs, but is turned down from each one.

Then, Michael runs into an old friend, a manager at the local diner, and begs to work there. He allows him to work as a dishwasher, a humble step down for a former college athlete.

Of course, Michael’s minimum wage job isn’t enough to help his mother pay her medical bills, so he’s still desperate for money. On his way home from work, the neighborhood gang leader approaches him. He hands him $2,500 in cash to help his mother. Michael turns the money down because he knows it comes with a debt to be involved in gang activity. He walks away from the temptation and goes to his former church.

There, Michael runs into his old pastor and tells him about his desire to commit himself to the Lord. Michael begins to attend church regularly and prays for all those around him. On paper, he has nothing. He lost his former girlfriend to a ruthless athlete, lost his opportunity to go to the NBA and can’t obtain a job above minimum wage. With all these setbacks, Michael maintains a positive outlook on life because he knows God is with him.

The movie’s climax occurs when a million-dollar slam dunk competition comes to town. Michael desperately needs the money and dedicates himself to training. On the day of the competition, professional basketball players come to compete, which makes it tougher for Michael to win the million dollars.

SLAMMA JAMMA is an uplifting, positive movie with strong Christian faith and values. However, it’s a movie cast with basketball stars, so the movie’s cheesy lines and untrained actors take away from the story’s power. Also, the basketball contest shows every slam dunk competitor. The footage is incredible to watch, but it also takes away from the story.

The movie has some brief, light gang violence, including threats of violence and some gun use, plus examples of lying, revenge and stealing, but no foul language. However, Michael remembers to thank God first when things go his way, and the movie promotes Jesus, forgiveness, faithfulness, prayer, reading the Bible, and going to church. So, its premise is thoroughly Christian. So, SLAMMA JAMMA is appropriate for families with older pre-teenage children.

Content:

(CCC, BBB, V, A, MM) Very strong, dominant Christian worldview reflects strong biblical/moral principles in a story about a prison protagonist, who turns his life around and seeks to serve God first, with Christian, biblical principles of forgiveness and faithfulness demonstrated, protagonist attends weekly church service, preaches at church, invites nonbelievers to church, and prays before eating, pastor prays at a funeral, God referenced 10 plus times for strength and hope in life, sick mother reads the Bible, images of crosses shown, plus movie promotes love, generosity, faithfulness, honoring one’s parents, and rebuking all temptation to sin; no foul language or obscene content; light action violence, gang members grab boy by the shirt and threaten to kill him, boyfriend grabs girlfriend’s shoulders violently when she doesn’t listen to him, gang members push boy against a wall and shove him, basketball players push each other on the court during an intense game; no sexual content or nudity, a few romantic gestures when girlfriend holds hands with boyfriend and boyfriend puts arm around girlfriend; no nudity; light alcohol use, basketball players drink beer at a club; no smoking or illegal drugs displayed, but references to illegal gang activities to secure lots of money, implying drug deals; and, moderate miscellaneous immorality such as gang activity, gun violence, lying, stealing, revenge, greed, racism, and bad role models, but implicitly, generally and overtly rebuked.

In Brief:

In SLAMMA JAMMA, Michael Diggs, a former college basketball star, tries to start a new life after six years of wrongful imprisonment. After he’s released, he turns to God for hope and strength instead of his former gang friends. He secures a job at a local diner and constantly works on his basketball skills in hopes of winning a million-dollar slam dunk competition to pay for his mother’s hospital bills. Michael attends church, prays and walks away from temptations to get rich quick in the gang life. However, he must compete with other basketball stars to win the competition.

SLAMMA JAMMA is an uplifting, positive movie with strong Christian faith and values. It calls on people to choose God’s love and turn to faith to overcome the world’s troubles. However, some clichés and cheesy lines detract from the story’s power. Also, a handful of the leading characters are real athletes. Their lack in acting training is evident. Despite this, the strong Christian principles make SLAMMA JAMMA a good movie for families, though there’s some content involving revenge, lying and light gang violence.